Last Stand
by Kenna Monster
Summary: All he'd ever wanted was to make his brother proud. But now Yancy's dead and so is Raleigh's will to fight. Can the others change his mind?


The kaiju slammed into them, ripping off the left arm. Raleigh screamed as the entire left side of his body shut down in pain. He could faintly hear Yancy yelling his name, then the sound of steel being clawed apart as the kaiju dug into the cockpit. Raleigh looked at his brother.

"Raleigh listen to me..." Yancy began before he was pulled from the Jaeger.

"No!" Raleigh shouted. He could feel his brother die, the two of them still connected. He could feel his pain, his fear, his helplessness. It nearly made him black out. As the kaiju came at him again he switched the control from his useless left hand to his right and fired into the monster's face.

The kaiju fell backwards, dead. And as Raleigh stood over it all he could think about was his brother and the coast. He had to make it to the coast.

He felt like he'd been walking for days. Controlling the Jaeger on his own was nearly impossible, but he somehow managed to find the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other. When Gipsy finally found land, Raleigh could barely manage to hold on as it crashed to the ground.

"Raleigh! Raleigh, can you hear me?" Tendo yelled over the com. Raleigh ignored him as he crawled out of the cockpit, body shutting down piece by piece.

"Yancy," he cried, stumbling forward. He fell to his knees, still trying to search for his brother even though he knew he'd never find him. He tipped forward, collapsing on his side and rolling over to his back. "Yancy."

The world went black around him as he stared up at the sky, snow falling softly around him.

* * *

"Vitals are steady."

"We should be there in a few hours."

"Why's he shivering?"

"Body temp is low, grab another blanket."

Raleigh struggled to open his eyes, everything around him hazy and out of focus. He blinked, brain unable to comprehend what was happening around him.

"Where am I?" He asked. The floor felt like it was moving and when he looked at the far wall and saw round windows he realized they were on a carrier.

"Hey mate, it's good to see you awake!" Hercules Hanson said, leaning forward. He covered Raleigh with a blanket and looked over at two other men who appeared to be med staff.

"What's going on?" Raleigh asked. He had met Herc a few years ago when he and Yancy had been part of a three team drop. The Australian pilot was one of the few good ones.

"We're taking you to Hong Kong to meet up with Marshall Pentecost and the others.

"Is Yancy meeting us there?" Raleigh asked.

Herc looked at him in surprise, glancing at the doctors before clearing his throat.

"Raleigh, Yancy didn't make it. I'm so sorry."

Raleigh shook his head. "I don't...I don't understand. Yancy is fine. We can't leave him there!"

"Just calm down, it's alright," Herc said, grabbing his shoulder.

"No! We can't leave him! He's still out there!" Raleigh shouted as he fought against Herc. He didn't see one of the doctors grab a needle but felt when it pricked his arm, then everything became shiny and out of focus.

"Just rest," Herc said before darkness swallowed him.

* * *

The next time Raleigh awoke, he found himself in a faintly lit hospital room. His arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling. Whatever meds they had him on were impressive, the pounding in his head much better than it'd been earlier. He could hear faint voices coming from the hall outside.

"That's Raleigh Becket? The co-pilot of Gipsy Danger?"

"Show some respect! He got his jaeger to shore on his own after his brother was killed. Only one other pilot has ever done that."

"I just...expected more."

"He's in pretty rough shape right now, but the Marshall wants him as part of the program."

"Rough shape? He won't be combat ready for a month! Severe concussion, nerve damage to his left arm, internal bleeding. The rest of us will risk our lives waiting for him to get better."

"You got a better idea?!"

"We don't even know if he can handle the solo combat! It's all just an untested theory!"

"You want to tell the Marshall that he wasted all this money making a jaeger specifically for Raleigh? I sure as hell don't!"

"So that's why you brought me here," Raleigh said, leaning heavily against the doorframe. Herc and his son Chuck whirled around, shocked to see him upright.

"You shouldn't be walking around yet," Herc said as he took Raleigh's uninjured arm and began helping him back to bed.

Raleigh stopped. "Take me to the Marshall. I want to see the suit."

"Don't be stupid, you aren't in any shape to be walking around," Chuck argued. Raleigh just glared at him before Herc intervened.

"Well take you to the deck but only if you go in a wheelchair."

Raleigh sighed, nodding in agreement. He didn't want to admit it in front of Chuck but his legs felt like jelly and he was amazed he was still standing.

Soon Herc was pushing him down the hall and pointing out the different parts of their compound. It was impressive. They'd taken over an abandoned munitions factory and turned into their base of operations, using the blast doors as Jaeger launch sites. Even in his condition Raleigh was able to appreciate all the work they must've done. He wished Yancy was there to see it.

Shaking away thoughts of his brother, Raleigh glanced around as Herc pushed him into the command room where Marshall Pentecost stood waiting.

"Good to see you awake," the Marshall greeted, shaking his hand. Raleigh nodded.

"It's a bit to take in," Herc said, noticing his wayward gazes. "Most of the tech we gathered from Australia after the Jaeger program was decommissioned."

"Decomissioned?" Raleigh asked in confusion. "What happened?"

The Marshall sighed. "The world leaders decided building the coastal wall was a bigger priority and cut our funding. The last bit of reserve money we scrounged up is keeping this place running but it won't last much longer. Which is why I brought you here."

He turned, looking out the glass panel wall at a Jaeger standing in the closest bay, it's chest open as technicians worked on the engine. Raleigh stood up, stubbornly refusing Herc's offer of help. He couldn't believe his eyes. It couldn't be.

"Is that...Gipsy Danger?"

"No," the Marshall replied, turning back to him. "That's Yancy Danger. The first solo combat Jaeger in operation."

"Solo combat? I thought they scrapped that because the toll would be too much for a single pilot. The neural load would kill them," Raleigh said, still in shock to see his old suit in front of him. The name change sparked something deep in his chest.

"In an older suit yes. The fact that it's only happened twice before is a miracle, and both times it was a last resort," a British man explained, stepping forward and introducing himself as Gottlieb, the lead engineer. His partner Newt joined him, the two shoving each other as they fought for attention.

"Don't mind them," Chuck said. "They're always like that."

"Now that you've seen the resistance you should get back to bed. We can't start simulations until you're healed," Marshall ordered. Raleigh reluctantly sat down in the wheelchair and let Herc push him back to the med bay. He would never admit it but he was exhausted and feeling overwhelmed. Everything had just been thrown at him and he was expected to be completely alright with all of it.

"You doing okay?" Herc asked as they wheeled down the hall. "That was a bit of an overload."

"Yah I'm fine," Raleigh replied. He didn't want to think about his brother, didn't want to contemplate what had happened to him. He appreciated what everyone was trying to do but piloting a suit named after Yancy only threw his death constantly in his face.

Herc nodded in understanding. "It'll take some time getting used to, but that's why we're starting slow. First you rest up and heal, then simulations. Someday you might even be in a real fight."

Raleigh snorted. "Someday."

Herc stopped outside the med bay, helping Raleigh to his feet and back to bed. Once he was satisfied that Raleigh was settled Herc turned to leave, stopping at the door. He glanced back.

"Yancy would be proud."


End file.
